In an exclusive interview with the NME Graham Coxon has said his relationship with the other Blur band members has deteriorated so badly that he no longer regards them as his friends. "They haven't particularly acted like my friends," he said. "I don't think they acted as friends would. I probably haven't for years. It's kind of good I don't have to pretend anymore. I think there was a lot of pretending to be friends. I remember Dave, years ago, said in a paper, 'If we weren't in a group together we wouldn't be fucking friends.' He's fucking right... in the end we were business partners. Basically. And that's the fucking truth. That's what Blur became as a band."
He continued: "I think they got more serious about what Blur was in a more professional, commercial way, and I guess I don't have much respect for professional and commercial. Blur and me shifted. We were always shifting but perhaps that was one shift too far this time. Maybe they'll be brilliant without me, maybe they're at their greatest now! I don't think the story's over with them. They'll carry on. Personnel is now... secondary to what Blur is."
The full interview will be in this week's NME.